Listening to a raucous crow convention
I’m unable to discern their intention
on this grey drizzly November dayHip-hip! Hip-hip! Hip-hip! Caw-caw -caw! Caaaw!
First close than further away
I wonder what they are trying to say
from skeletal branches that gently sway
in the light winds of late autumn blowing today

Image: Microsoft WORD Clip Art

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Published by Carol A. Hand

What matters are not the titles I’ve held or university degrees I earned
or the size of a house or bank account. It’s really what I’ve learned
from ordinary people like me whom I’ve met along the way.
They taught me to live with gratitude and give thanks for each new day.
View all posts by Carol A. Hand

Thank you, Natalie. It was really quite amusing to hear the crows. I kept waiting for them to finally say “hooray” after what sounded to me like repeating “Hip-Hips.” Yes, mourning doves do have a distinct song as well, as do the seagulls that often visit the elementary school garbage bins half a block away from my back porch.

If the crows are cawing (speaking) when one is near, it means that they don’t want that person there right then, I never have crows caw when I’m near them alone, but they do caw if I’m with a person and/or people they don’t want around them.
They speak to me silently, I get their messages (when they want to send them) without any sound.

btw, I had noticed this fact about crows on my own years ago, and then last year I saw a documentary by David Suzuki about crows and he said the same thing, scientists had been studying this behaviour of cawing when they don’t want some people near them, and other people they never caw to.

Perhaps the crows were annoyed with me as your experiences and Suzuki’s research suggest, or perhaps, as the Ojibwe poet suggests, they were issuing a warning, crying because they felt peoples’ suffering, or trying to get me to pay attention to their counsel. They arrived as I was sitting on my back porch and gathered in the surrounding trees. Their calls didn’t seem threatening. In fact, I was amused by what sounded like an unfinished cheer, answered by other crows singing a different song. I tried to listen deeply but still couldn’t understand what they were saying. In retrospect, the crows’ visit and songs feel like gifts that made me smile and wonder.

I’m sure you’re right. I don’t recall seeing crows do anything to other birds. It might relate to population numbers and the food supply. Where I live, there are a lot of crows and gulls and lots of food. These two types are the top birds in the area and don’t seem to need to compete with other types of birds, just each other a bit. The gulls are more physically gifted – quicker and more agile, and while they are intelligent, while crows appear to be more intelligent. I’ve seen blue jays act aggressively with other birds many times. There seems to be plenty of food to go around. Blue jays seem to be aggressive by nature.

Sorry to go into details. I love birds. 🙂 They made an amazing transformation long ago and have evolved into magnificent animals.